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Residents in Sandwich and Marshborough gear up to fight revised solar plan

00:00, 05 March 2015

Residents in Sandwich and Marshborough could have another battle on their hands over a proposed solar farm.

This is the second, revised application for grade three agricultural land at Marshborough near Great Poulders Farm in Sandwich.

The previous application was rejected in 2013 and the firm, vogt solar, lost its appeal.

Campaigners against the previous application for a solar farm could rally round again
Campaigners against the previous application for a solar farm could rally round again

Jane Thornber-Taft, of Each End, between Sandwich and Ash, said residents fought very strongly last time and, although the latest planned solar farm would be half the size, she is still opposed.

She said: “The original one was 100 metres from my house but this would still be visible and there will be glint and glare from the road.

“It’s right next to the bypass and right next to Sandwich. It’s the wrong site to be putting a solar farm.

“I’m not against renewable energy but it’s right next to the original and everyone will see it when they come to visit Sandwich.”

Vogt solar held a public exhibition at the Guildhall last month which saw only 40 people attend out of the 500 who were invited.

Feedback from 17 of those who attended showed 10 of them supported the proposal.

However, Mrs Thornber-Taft said there were hundreds of people against it who did not attend because they didn’t know it was taking place.

Proposed layout for solar farm
Proposed layout for solar farm

She claims residents in Poulders Gardens and some residents of Woodnesborough were not written to and many in Sandwich are still unaware of the latest proposals.

“It’s on grade three agricultural land and the government says solar farms cannot go on agricultural land.

“The planned trees to hide the solar farm take 10 years minimum to grow and the panels are higher than the last proposal as the ground is wetter.”

Deputy Mayor of Sandwich Cllr Pip Russell said: “The site is definitely far smaller than the previous one applied for, to which I objected on the grounds of the very large area of good agricultural land that would be used for the solar farm.

“I also made the comment that the plans for the site had been misleading. The visual impact would have been far greater than the plans suggested, as the area intended was on an incline in full view of the houses at Each End.

“The panels are still intended to be sited on good agricultural land, but I felt that this site may give far less visual concern than the one previously under consideration.”

A site meeting will be held on Friday.

For more information visit www.dover.gov.uk/planning and search for reference 15/00115.

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